We are pleased to publish a marvelous 26-page document trove which was released 6 February 2017 by “The Atlantic” magazine’s “CityLab” website. CityLab published a collection of documents from 27 US police departments detailing the extent to which US big-city police agencies have acquired and are using cell phone spying hardware and software. With this equipment, US police departments can listen to live conversations of any cell phone broadcast without first obtaining a search warrant. Some of the products purchased by these police departments can also interfere with live cell phone transmissions – even denying cell phone access to people in an entire section of a city.

One of the most controversial aspects of these devices is that in order for a police department to purchase the equipment from a supplier the police must sign a binding non-disclosure agreement that is supposed to “prevent” the police from admitting to the existence or the capabilities of the equipment – even in a court of law.

Harris Corporation non-disclosure agreement on page 7 of its “Terms and Conditions” document. Cops pretend this legally worthless proviso prevents them from being compelled to testify to the equipment’s existence or their use of it even when testifying under oath in a court of law.

In fact, Harris Corporation has the nerve to assert that information about its illegal spyware equipment is exempt from disclosure under the Freedom of Information Act because it consists of “trade secret and confidential business or financial information”:

Harris Corporation claims FOIA can be waived under alleged “trade secret and confidential business or financial information” exemption.

Police departments have been fighting lawsuits aimed at forcing them to disclose the extent and lawfulness of their cell-phone spying operations. The cops are using these non-disclosure agreements as an excuse not to comply with Freedom of Information Act requests as well as requests from defendants’ lawyers seeking to determine if any illegal surveillance techniques were used against their clients.

18 September 2015 letter from Chicago Police Department’s Bureau of Organized Crime: “This system is covert in nature and knowledge of its existence should be kept” from prying eyes of the media, citizenry and defense attorneys.

The documents we publish here, which relate only to the Chicago Police Department (covering the period from 2012 to September 2015) reveal a mere glimpse into this secretive area of the burgeoning US secret police state and its illegal operations. The entire release of documents from the 27 police departments can be found here:

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About fowlchicago

Chicago-based support group for WikiLeaks. We are always looking for new members who would like to help study and publish reports based on new document releases from WikiLeaks as they come out, as well as to provide public support for Julian Assange, Chelsea Manning, Edward Snowden and all whistleblowers who come under attack from the US Government. Join us!